December 15, 2016

Category: Articles

BC Introduces Innovative New Program to Help First-Time Homebuyers

In a move to help BC citizens and residents buy their first home, the BC government announced today that it is launching a new program to augment down payments for first-time buyers. The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program contributes to the amount first-time homebuyers have already saved for their down payment, providing…

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December 15, 2016

Category: Articles

Home Sales Cool in November, While Prices Still Rise

This morning, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released its national real estate statistics for November showing the largest monthly decline in activity since August 2012. The number of home resales now stands at its lowest level since September 2015. Activity was down on a month-over-month basis in about two-thirds of all local markets, including…

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December 14, 2016

Category: Articles

Fed Hikes Rates For First Time This Year

Rarely has there been a more widely expected result as today’s 0.25 percent rate hike by the Fed. This is the second interest rate increase since the Fed started the current process of interest rate re-normalization one year ago. Although, many had called for additional hikes earlier this year, the policy makers held the overnight…

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December 7, 2016

Category: Articles

Bank on Hold As Housing Expected to Slow

It is no surprise to anyone that the Bank of Canada maintained its target overnight rate at 1/2 percent today, judging that although the global economy has strengthened, uncertainty continues and is damaging business confidence and dampening investment in Canada’s major trading partners. Since the Trump victory, US interest rates have risen sharply with the…

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December 2, 2016

Category: Articles

Canadian Jobless Rate Falls as Labour Force Shrinks

Following four consecutive months of job gains, Canadian employment increased by 11,000 (or 0.1%) in November. Economists had expected hiring to decline by 15,000 according to the Bloomberg News survey. All of the rise in employment, however, was in part-time jobs, as full-time hiring fell by 8,700. This pattern is particularly worrisome as over the…

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November 30, 2016

Category: Articles

Canadian Economy Rebounds in Q3

According to data released this morning by Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy bounced back strongly in the third quarter from the Alberta-wildfire contraction in Q2. The economy grew at a 3.5% (quarter-over-quarter) annual rate in Q3, in line with expectation, following the 1.3% slide in the prior period. The rebound was driven by a sharp…

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November 15, 2016

Category: Articles

October Homes Sales Edged Up in Canada, But Declined Again in Vancouver

This morning, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released its national real estate statistics for October, which showed a modest uptick in home sales nationally, as new listings ticked up and home prices increased once again. For Canada as a whole, the number of homes trading on the MLS Systems increased 2.0% month-over-month in October–up…

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November 9, 2016

Category: Articles

Trump Wins In Resounding Fashion

Secretary Clinton called Donald Trump to concede the election just before 3:00 AM this morning and will no doubt speak to the American people later today. A populist uprising that has very disturbing elements of racism, xenophobia, misogyny and isolationism has taken Donald Trump to the White House–a man with no experience in government or public…

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November 4, 2016

Category: Articles

Canadian Jobs Blew Through Estimates, But Devil Is In the Details

Canadian employment rose 44,000 (+0.2%) in October–much stronger than expected. But all of the gain was because of more part-time work, as full-time employment fell. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0% as more people joined the labour force. Compared to one year ago, the total number of hours worked was little changed and employment…

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October 26, 2016

Category: Articles

CMHC Sees Problematic Housing Conditions in Canada

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) issued its quarterly housing market assessment and outlook today, suggesting that, for the first time ever, there are “problematic conditions” in housing markets at the national level in Canada (see table below for details). As well, CMHC expects national housing starts and MLS sales to decline slightly in 2017 before…

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